Chelsea need to sign another striker if they have designs on competing on all fronts this season, according to former Blues hitman Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

The Premier League champions spent around £60m on Spanish striker Alvaro Morata earlier this summer and are also able to call upon Belgium international Michy Batshuayi, who joined last year for £33m. The duo look set to be Chelsea’s first-choice strikers for the current campaign, with wantaway forward Diego Costa itching for a return to Atletico Madrid.

But Hasselbaink, who scored 88 goals during his time at Stamford Bridge, believes Antonio Conte’s men are still in need of another centre forward as well as “reinforcements” in other areas, though he is confident Morata, who missed a guilt-edge chance during Chelsea’s win against Tottenham on Sunday (20 August), will prove to be a “brilliant” signing for the west London side.

“He would want to compete for all the trophies and I think if you’re a Chelsea player or a Chelsea fan, or a Chelsea coach, that’s what you do,” Hasselbaink said on Goals on Sunday, relayed by The Express.

“That is where the club is at at the moment. They need to compete, are they going to be able to? I don’t know, they still need reinforcements I think in a few areas. I think you can’t replace Costa because Costa is unique.

“They have Morata but I do feel that they need one more. I think Morata is going to be a brilliant signing. What I like about Morata is that he’s played for big clubs, he’s played for Juventus, he’s played for Real Madrid.

“So he knows what is expected from him, he knows that there is pressure. His movement is magnificent, he will score goals.”

Hasselbaink may think Costa is “irreplaceable”, but Chelsea, who have made four first-team signings this summer, will have to find a way to cope without the fiery Spaniard who is refusing to return to the club’s training complex.

The 28-year-old said in a brief statement that he “must return” to Atletico Madrid, and Diego Simeone’s side are believed to have agreed a €45m fee for their former striking hero, who is currently residing in his family home in Brazil.